Monday, March 31, 2008

"Poetry: the best words in the best order." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In 1996, the Academy of American Poets established National Poetry Month, to be celebrated during April. Join the celebration by learning about a poet, or by finding a poem that inspires or motivates you. To get started, visit the links below.

American Literature: Poetry
Read this informative article to learn about the origins, development and different forms of American poetry, from the 1600s to the present.

The Academy of American Poets: Find a Poet
Search the Academy's growing database (it currently includes more than 500 poets) for biographies, photos, and other information.

The Academy of American Poets: Find a Poem
Search the Academy's companion database of poems (1,200 and growing) by keyword for poem text, or browse lists of titles and/or first lines.

Representative Poetry Online: Poet Index
This terrific resource, created by RPO Editors in the Department of English at the University of Toronto Press, displays poets alphabetically and chronologically (by birth day). The Poem Index allows a user to search for a poem by title, first line, or last line.

Poets' Corner
Find the full text of poems by such fine poets as Stephen Vincent Benét, Lewis Carroll, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edward Lear, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and many more, as well as author, title and subject indexes.

Poetry Archives (from eMule.com)
This collection is searchable, by author, title and first line of each poem included in the database. Other features include nice lists of "Top Classical Poems" and "Top Classical Authors".

Ralph Fletcher: Tips for Young Writers
This terrific writer, author of Flying Solo, Spider Boy, and A Writing Kind of Day: Poems for Young Adults, among many other books, offers students great suggestions for getting started with, revising, and publishing their own writing.

Children's Poetry (from Story It: Language Art Resources for children and their teachers)

Poetry Out Loud: Poems to Make, Watch & Hear

National Poetry Month, from infoplease
This site is loaded with links to useful information about poets and their poetry, as well as "Poetry Hangman", "Name the Poet Quiz", and more.

Slam Poetry
Poetry? A competitive event? Learn more about this form of performance poetry, in which the delivery is as important as the quality of the poetry itself.

Background on Slam Poetry
Read about the history of the Poetry Slam as a competitive performance event, and learn the rules, too, by reading this brief article, and checking out some of the links available at this site.

Biography Resource Center
This outstanding database features biographical information about more than 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. More than 400,000 biographies are included from 90 highly regarded Gale Group publications. (Please note: To access this database, you will need to use your public library barcode.)

SELECTED FAVORITE POETS

LUIS ALBERTO AMBROGGIO
Luis Alberto Ambroggio Watch Ambroggio and others read their poetry in this webcast, from a program featured as part of the Library of Congress celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

LEWIS CARROLL

Poetry of Lewis Carroll, from everypoet.com

EMILY DICKINSON
Emily Dickinson: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This detailed biography features information about the life and writings of the reclusive poet, as well as links to other resources.

Modern American Poetry: Emily Dickinson's Life

Emily Dickinson: The Complete Poems

T.S. ELIOT
Nobelprize.org: T. S. Eliot

Modern American Poetry: T. S. Eliot's Life and Career

ROBERT FROST
The Academy of American Poets: Robert Frost

KRISTINE O'CONNELL GEORGE: writer, poet, tadpole rancher...
Visit this site to read (and hear!) many of the author's wonderful poems. Students will also find links to sites that will allow them to write and publish their own poems.

LANGSTON HUGHES
Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This detailed biography provides information about the poet's life, career, and political views, as well as a nice list of links to other resources.

EDWARD LEAR
Edward Lear

Selected Poetry of Edward Lear (1812-1888)

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
Poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, from everypoet.com

PORTIA NELSON
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

The Sidewalk of Life: Portia Nelson
This site features a discussion of each of the "chapters" in Nelson's There's a Hole in My Sidewalk: an Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.

Obituaries: Portia Nelson
Scroll down and find a brief obituary about this versatile artist.

SYLVIA PLATH

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)

Biography of Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath: Biography and Much More

CARL SANDBURG

Carl Sandburg: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carl Sandburg Home

Selected Poetry of Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

DR. SEUSS
Dr. Seuss: Seussville

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
The Literature Network: William Shakespeare
Visitors to this site will find a biography of Shakespeare, and links to the full text of his tragedies, histories, comedies, and selected poetry.

Shakespeare of Stratford

"Search Oxford Shakespeare"

SHEL SILVERSTEIN
Shel Silverstein

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

William Carlos Williams: from Answers.com
This site offers a collection of biographies, a timeline of the works of this writer/physician, and an extensive list of links to other informative resources.

William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)
This page, part of Modern American Poetry's comprehensive site, offers readers a detailed Williams biography, as well as the full text of many of his poems.

SITES FOR TEACHERS

April is National Poetry Month!, from ReadWriteThink (International Reading Association/National Council of Teachers of English)

Teach Now! National Poetry Month

Education World: Poetry Month

Modern American Poetry

Poetry Forms and Terminology

Glossary of Poetic Terms

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